Subject: Scottish veteran rockers Nazareth gave the last show of their extensive European tour in Belgium.

Gistel is a small village near Ostend with a moderate blues rock tradition. With three bands on the bill and an entry fee of 18 euros, the crowd gets value for money.

Opening band All I Know has already built up a good reputation, but due to a traffic jam, I missed their set. Second on the bill was Revenge 88 from Ostend. They are a very tight classic rock band with some original material and a lot of well chosen covers of classic rock songs. The audience likes them!

When Nazareth takes the stage at 10pm for a seventy-five minutes set, it’s immediately clear that is was well worth the wait! They open with ‘Silver Dollar Forger’, the first song of the classic ‘Rampant’ album and one that I never heard them perform live before. They follow that up with ‘Telegram’, one of their greatest songs. Dan McCafferty still has his voice in good shape and sings with his typical bluesy phrasing like he’s still in his twenties. Bass player Pete Agnew plays very concentrated and in perfect harmony with his son Lee who replaced the late Darryl Sweet many years ago on drums. Guitarist Jimmy Murrison knows his game and plays basic but very efficient guitar. The songs that follow give the set a perfect flow. ‘This Month’s Messiah’, ‘Dream On’, ‘Turn On Your Receiver’ and ‘Broken Down Angel’ are four classics in a row before it is time for ‘Radio’, the only song of the new ‘’Big Dogz’ album.

Then the wonderful Joni Mitchell cover ‘This Flight Tonight’ is followed by a funny introduction ‘about a woman in Belgium’ (bet Dan tells this story in every country and changes it accordingly …) for the song ‘Whisky Drinking Woman’. Next is one of Dan’s favourites, the lesser known ‘Changing Times’ and the set ends with the classic ‘Hair Of The Dog’. The crowd wants more of course and that’s what it gets: ‘Night Woman’, ‘Razamanaz’ and the inevitable ‘Love Hurts’. They came and won and should be back soon! This uncompromising and authentic band surely earns a slot on one of the classic rock festivals.